We've got a bit of a slow drip coming from our stopcock which is as old as the house - about 30 years. So it looks like it needs replacing.
Could anyone please advise how bad a job it is to have replaced? The part itself is quite accessible but do we need to get the water company in to shut off the mains etc?
Our water company did ours for a fixed price of £79.95 about four or five years ago. They handled all the details.
Took the guy about 3.5 hours as it turned out to be tricky. It may be worth seeing if your water company do something similar (ours is Mid Kent Water)
Which part of it is leaking?
You should be able to shut off the mains yourself at the company's main stop c*ck. If it's their main stopcock which is leaking, then it's their responsibility to repair it.
I've just checked with Anglian Water, our supplier, and they've confirmed that they only deal with things outside of the property.
Easy enough if you can turn off the main stopcock outside.
If not, pipe freezer kits work very well - follow the instructions to the letter.
It seems to be dripping from where the main shaft of the handle goes into the main unit...if that makes any sense.
I'm sure that's true, but they may have a separate 'arm' that does plumbing work.
Gland needs repacking.
MAY pe possible to o it without turning it off at all, if there is screw bit on top of the shaft bearing.
Stuffing needs replacing. There should be a small nut round the shaft which you can undo (don't worry - it isn't going to fall to pieces and spray water everywhere....) and repack the stuff inside. I usually use waxed string.
As already mentioned, repacking the stuffing would fix this.
Other options are to just try tightening up the stuffing gland a bit (the nut the shaft comes out of). This will also make the tap tighter, and if you can't stop the leak this way without the tap becoming too tight, then abandon this.
Another option is to buy a new tap and swap the tops around, if they have the same main body thread (need to turn off the water first). I've done this with taps which were over 50 years old, but couldn't find matching ones for 100 year old taps.
Take out a household plumbing insurance with Homeserve
Please remember this is only a suggestion and I would definitely not suggest any form of misuse or fraud against any insurance company. It's entirely up to you whether to take out such a policy.
Terry D.
Hmmm, that's interesting. I have British Gas's plumbing and drains cover and it states that the stopcock isn't covered. With the Homeserve cover it looks like they do cover it.
If it is just leaking from the 'packing gland', i.e 'where the stem of the valve disappears into the body of the valve through a brass nut' it is a simple job as long as you can undo this nut. Other posters have described the way to do it. Undo the nut with a suitable spanner, not mole grips, slide it back up the stem. Get some PTFE tape, wind a few turns round the stem and then push the nut down and tighten up. You might have to do it a couple of times to get the amount of PTFE right. All the packing glands of my manual Rad Valves have leaked at some time. All get the same treatment. Due to the low friction of the PTFE Tape never had to do them again.
Can you locate the mains stopcock to your property - it could be on the pavement outside your house, or, by sod's law, in the middle of the road. Then you would need some sort of special tool to close it (bear in mind that it probably hasn't been touched for 30 years!). Freezing is a possibility if you have access to the main feed pipe. Mine is buried under the concrete floor, so I would have to excavate. If you take the freezing route, make sure that you have at least two freezing kits available, and also all the necessary parts and tools - you will have limited time! Why not just pay a plumber or take out insurance and let a professional take the risks, otherwise you could flood your house. Bear in mind that mains water could be up to 1 bar pressure and a flow of about 9 litres/minute.
Terry D.
You have plenty of time if everything is ready. Last one I used I had to wait for 25 mins to get my cup of tea!
Doesn't freezing pipes lead to them bursting?
You are only freezing a small section of pipe so the expansion isn't great enough to do any damage.
The expansion goes along the pipe rather than outwards.
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